The Westport firm, which manages $150 billion in assets, is slated to receive $100 million in economic incentives from the state to relocate its headquarters to Stamford and create 1,000 jobs. Founded by Greenwich billionaire Ray Dalio, the fund is known for its corporate culture and a 123-page manifesto of management principles prescribed by Dalio.

A message seeking comment from Debicella, who served two terms in the state Senate and was a deputy minority leader, was left Monday at Bridgewater.

Republicans are scouring the Fairfield County-centric district for someone to challenge Himes, who increased his margin of victory to 60 percent in 2012 and is national finance chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

"My confidence is growing that we will be fielding an A-level candidate in the 4th Congressional District race," state GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola Jr. said Tuesday.

Labriola declined to elaborate on the race or identify potential candidates.

For the first time in their history, Connecticut Democrats have chosen a black woman to headline their annual Jefferson-Jackson-Bailey Dinner, the party's signature fundraiser.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., who won a special election in April to replace the disgraced Jesse Jackson Jr., has accepted an invitation to appear at the Sept. 28 event at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville. Tickets to the dinner start at $175 per person.

Kelly's appearance comes seven years after Barack Obama, then a U.S. senator from Illinois, headlined the dinner.

"While Robin may not be as well known as some of our keynote speakers, she certainly has an interesting story that will draw a lot of people," state Democratic Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo told Hearst Connecticut Newspapers.

The 57-year-old Harlem, N.Y., native has a background in psychology and crisis counseling. She served as Cook County's Human Rights commissioner and in the Illinois House of Representatives before she was elected to Congress.

The Democrats typically hold their fundraising dinner in the spring, fueling speculation that they were having difficulty landing an A-list keynote speaker.

Connecticut's senior Democratic U.S. senator returned to his alma mater of Harvard Thursday to promote legislation to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

"I had the great fortune of attending Harvard as an undergraduate and then attended that other place in New Haven for law school," Blumenthal opened what his office billed as a major policy address. "I'm told the entire Yale Law School could fit in this building."

During Blumenthal's time at Harvard, he competed on the swim team and served at editorial chairman of The Harvard Crimson student newspaper.

Blumenthal spoke for about 40 minutes and renewed his call for Congress to create a special advocate that could argue for privacy rights and question the cases brought by the government.

A companion bill would take away the power to appoint FISA judges from the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and give it to judges who preside over various federal circuit panels.

"I think many Americans are concerned about the extent of surveillance that is going on right now," Blumenthal said. "This activity needs and deserves the trust and credibility of the American people. My fear is that some of those agencies and institutions are in peril of losing it."

When Blumenthal opened up the floor to questions and comments from the audience, Harvard Law professor Charles Fried characterized privacy concerns as overblown.

"Why should I fear the fact that somebody is collecting the addresses of my emails?" Fried said. "I don't care. What is it that people are afraid of?"

Blumenthal drew an analogy between the FISA courts and the Star Chamber, an ancient high court of England controlled by the monarch.

No word on whether Blumenthal will be reprising his policy speech at Yale, which hosts Harvard football for the 130th installment of "The Game" on Nov. 23.